Typewriter



A. B. PARKER.

TYPEWRITER. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1919.

1 2 mm fi n- W 8 m2 m I 'Jvwutto'a ABlar/aer.

A. B. PARKER. TYPEWRITER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 28, 1919- 1,370,992. Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

2 SHEET$SHEE 2- A.B.Pa'rlzer.

nub woo PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED IB. PARKER, 01 MONROE, LOUISIANA.

TYPE'WRITER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

Application filed November 28, 1919. Serial No. 341,159.

To all whom it may concern: I

-Be it lmown that I, ALFRED B. PARKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Monroe, in the parish of Ouachita and State of Louisiana,have invented a new and useful Typewriter, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to typewriters and more particularly to meanswhereby, upon the movement of a key or the like by the operator, thecarriage of'the typewriter will be shifted back to its startin pointand, at the same time, the platen wi 1 be rotated.

Another object is to provide mechanism of this character which iselectrically operated and will not interfere in any way with theoperation of the usual tension tape or band.

A further object is to provide mechanism of this character which will inno way interfere with the back and forth movement of the carriage aslong as the electric current is not turned on.

Another ob'ect is to provide shock absorbing means W ereby injury to themachine due to the rapid movement of the carriage is revented.

other object is to provide mechanism of this character which willautomatically cut out the current when the carriage is brought back toits initial position, the current remaining shut off until the operatoragain closes the circuit for the purpose of shifting the carriage.

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope ofwhat is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the inventionshown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown:

In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of a typewriterhaving the present improvements combined therewith.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section through the connection between thecarriage and the return mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a section through the combined shock absorber and switch.

Fig. 5 is an end view of the structure shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical view of the motor and its controlling means.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates theshiftable carriage of a typewriter which can be of any desired type. Inthe present instance this carriage has a bar 2 movable therewith onwhich are mounted adjustable sto blocks 3. Extending between these blocrs is an arm 4 connected to the fixed portion of the typewriterstructure and this arm constitutes the abutment for engagement by therespective stops 3, thus to limit the movement of the type writercarriage. Another bar 5 moves wlth the carriage and has a block 6connected thereto and movable therewith, this block constituting a partof the attachment forming the subject matter of the present invention.As shown particularly in Fig. 3 a bore 7 is extended into the block 6and mounted to move longitudinally of this bore is a rod 8 having apiston 9 secured thereto. A cushioning spring 10' is interposed betweenthis piston and the closed end of the bore 7 and secured to one end ofthe rod 8 and close to the piston is a flexible tape or band 10 securedto and extending around a pulley 11. This pulley is journaled on pin 12carried by a bracket 13 secured to one end of the carriage and anotherband 14:.is secured to this pulley and is wrapped therearound, this band14 being extended forwardly and connected to the platen rotating leversuch as commonly found at the end of the carriage and which has beenindicated generally at 15, it being understood that this lever mechanismcan be of any desired construction. The platen has been indicated at 16.

The other end of the rod 8 is connected to a band or cord 17 which issecured to a pulley 18 located at the right hand side of the machine andfastened to the shaft 19 of an electric motor 20.

Mounted in the upper portion of the stop arm 4 and in the path of theblock 3 located at the left side of the carriage 1, when viewed from thefront, is a piston 21 insulated from the wall of the bore 22 in the armand provided with a rod 23 having a head 24: at one end and a spring 25is located back of the head and constitutes a cushion and shockabsorber. Thus the spring holds the piston 21 normally in apredetermined position. This piston may have a notch 26 in its peripheryadapted to receive spaced contact strips 27 and 28 insulated from thearm 4 but normally connected electrically through the piston 21 as shownin Fig. 4-. One of these contacts is connected electrically to the motor20' as shown in Fig. 6 through a conductor 29. Another conductorconnects the" motor 20 to the other contact 27 and included in thisconductor 30 is a key 31 located at a convenient point in the key-boardand which constitutes a switch. The key is normally elevated so that thecircuit to the motor from a source of electrical energy is normallybroken.

It will be understood that when it is desired to return the carriage toits initial position the operator depresses the key 31 so as to closethe circuit to the motor. The motor will be instantly started and willpull, through pulley 18 and connection 17 upon the rod 8. This willcause the piston 9 to compress the spring 10, and during thiscompression action the band or connection 10 will rotate the pulley 11which, in turn, will pull through the connection 14 upon the platenrotating mechanism 15. Immediately after the rotation of the platen inthis manner the continued pull of the connection 17 on the rod 8 willcause the block 6 to travel toward the right, carrying with it theentire carriage 1. As the carriage reaches the limit of its movement thestop 3 which operates to limit the movement of the carriage in thisdirection will come against the head 24 and compressed spring 25,thereby shifting the piston 21 off of the contact 28 and breaking thecircuit to the motor even though the key 31 is still held de' pressed.This will cause instant stopping of the motor and at the same timethespring 25 will act as a cushion for absorbing the writer aredepressed. Whenever it is desired to return the carriage it is merelynecessary to depress the key 31, as hereinbefore described.

It is to be understood of course that various modifications may be madein the construction and arrangement of the parts to adapt the inventionto different makes of typewriters.

What is claimed is The combination with a typewriter having a shiftablecarriage, a platen, and mechanism for rotating the platen, of anelectric motor, means under the control of the operator for energizingthe motor, a connection between the motor and the platen operatingmechanism for rotating said-platen by the actuating of the motor, ayielding connection between said connection and the carriage forreturning the carriage to its point of starting after the actuation ofthe platen, a combined shock absorber and switch, and means movable withthe carriage for engaging said combined 'shock absorber and switch todeenergize the motor when the carriage reaches said point of starting.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED B. PARKER.

Witnesses WV. F. MILLSAPS, R. H. OLIVER, Jr.

